Circular loom for weaving



1936- J. JABOULEY 28 CIRCULAR LOOM FOR WEAVING Filed Jan. 12, 1934' iliw W arroAP/vry Patented Aug. 11, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIQE2,050,328 CIRCULAR LOOM FOR WEAVI'NG Application January 12, 1934,Serial No. 706,322 In Great Britain January 24, 1933 7 Claims.

This invention relates to circular looms, and has particular referenceto the positioning of the shuttles within the warp shed.

In circular looms in which weaving takes place round the whole loomcircle, and especially where close warp spacing is required as in thecase of practically all textile fabrics, the weft inserting meansremains totally enclosed on its two sides by the two sheets of warps.Moreover, when in 10 order to produce the largest possible amount offabric for any given diameter of loom, the warps proceed in acylindrical manner from the warp supply to the woven fabric, the weftinserting means always remains totally enclosed within the warps so thatin order to hold the weft inserting means stationary in relation to thewarps force must be applied in some manner or other through the warpsthemselves. Over a long period of years, very many proposals have beenmade to this end, including electro-magnetic or other electrical devicesand a large number of mechanical arrangements, which latter aimed atholding weft inserting means positively in place. Electrical devices,however, are particularly inconvenient and troublesome, and since withmechanical arrangements any force employed has to be applied through oneor both sheets of warps, the danger is always present that the warpswill be damaged, and in fact this is one of the main difficulties thatprevented the adoption of circular weaving on any practical scale.

No satisfactory solution of these difficulties was available prior tothat offered by the arrangement set out in U. S. Patent No. 1,626,411,

and French Patent No. 577,713 which describes jshuttle holding meansthat avoid danger of damaging the warps, these means comprising vanewheels passing through one sheet of the warps so as to engage inrecesses in the shuttles. The

vane wheels are rotated during operation of the loom so that slotsbetween the vanes are continually presented to the warp threads in thesheet through which the wheels pass, and so permit the passage of thethreads past the vane wheels, while allowing positive mechanical,connection to be maintained with the shuttle. As described in the priorspecifications, each vane wheel engages a freely rotatable rollermounted in the shuttle body and a curved recess in the shuttle body or apair of such rollers mounted in a recess in the shuttle body, so that ineither case there is a two-point engagement between each vane wheel andthe shuttle. On the other side the shuttle is provided with a freelyrotatable roller mounted opposite a circular race within the inner warpsheet, this race and roller being situated at a level intermediate thetwo points of contact of the vane wheels with the shuttles. The racethus forms an abutment to withstand the thrust of the vane wheels. 5

It has been found, however, that the frictional engagement of the vanewheels with their corresponding recesses in the shuttle bodies inresisting the tendency of the shuttles to rotate with the warps, leadsto some difficulties in practice, 10 since wear takes place because ofthe rubbing between the wheels and the recesses, thus allowing theshuttles to become loose and even grinding the edges of the vanes, sothat there is danger of the warp threads being cut in their passage 15through the vane wheels. Consequently, while the principle ofmaintaining firm contact with the shuttles by means of the vane wheelswhile letting the warps pass substantially uninterrupted solves one ofthe major difficulties of circular weaving, considerable practicaldifficulty has been encountered for the reasons mentioned.

According to my invention, this difficulty is avoided by arranging thatthe vane wheels positioning the shuttle within the warps and re- 25sisting the tendency of the shuttle and the warps to rotate togetherduring weaving make rolling contact with pairs of rollers carried by theshuttle, means being provided to prevent the vane wheels making rubbingcontact with the shuttle 30 body, the danger of wear thereby beingdiminished. For example, the pairs of freely mount ed rollers maybeprovided with flanges, preferably one for each vane wheel, the flangesbeing adapted to engage the vane wheels on the sides Q5 thereof towardswhich the shuttle is to be urged against the drag of the warp threads.In this manner the shuttle is accurately positioned in a fore and aftdirection, the drag of the warp threads holding the flanges in contactwith the 40 vane wheels, while the vane wheels press upon the flangesand hold the shuttle against the action of the warp threads. Verticaland lateral positioning of the shuttle may be obtainedby the provisionof a further roller on the shuttle on the 45 side opposite the vanewheels, and a circular race engaged by said roller, the roller rotatingon a substantially vertical axis.

Preferably there are at least two vane wheels in connection with eachshuttle so that the shut- 5O tle is held firmly not only in a verticaldirection, but also in a fore and aft direction. One raceengaging rolleris in general sufficient for each shuttle.

The invention will now be described in greater 55 detail with referenceto the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. l is a front elevation of ashuttle;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing other features ofconstruction and also a slight modification of shape existing betweenalternate shuttles;

Figs. 4 and 5 are sectional views to a larger scale of details of Figs.1 and 2 respectively;

Fig. 6 is a plan view showing the mounting of two consecutive shuttlesat the periphery of the loom;

Figs. 7 and 8 show in plan and side elevation one form of lubricatingdevice; and

Fig. 9 shows in front elevation an alternative form of lubricatingdevice.

Referring to Figs. 1-3, the shuttle comprises an upper plate l0 and anintermediate plate H, both being slightly curved and pointed at theirfront and rear ends similar to boats, the plates being connectedtogether by a light but stiff bracket 2. To the underside of the plate His secured a plate |3 forming in its upper half a frame M to support theshuttle-holding mechanism, and curving in its lower half to a foot l5,of which the under edge lies at the fell of the fabric. Across the frameM are arranged two vertical members l6 forming supports for twohorizontal spindles rotatably mounted in ball bearings 8 in the membersHi and terminating in rollers l9. Each roller I9 is provided with a pairof flanges 20.

Disposed adjacent to each shuttle and outside the circle in which theshuttle lies is a shaft 2| carrying two pairs of vane wheels 22, theshaft being at a level between the two spindles H. The wheels 22 are ofsuch diameter as to bear with their peripheries against the body of therollers l9 and are so spaced that each wheel bears against the rear (i.e., right-hand) face of one of the flanges 20.

At substantially the same level as the shaft 2| but on the opposite sideof the shuttle lies a ring 23 whose edge bears against a roller 24mounted between the spindles H. The roller 24 is carried by ballbearings 25 on a spindle 26 secured on a cross-bar 21 extending betweenthe members I6. The shuttle is thus engaged on one side by the vanewheel contact made at the level of the spindles I1, and on the otherside by the contact made by the ring 23, and is thus held securely inposition with the plate |3 substantially vertical as shown in Figs. 2and 3.

The face of the ring 23 is somewhat inclined, the roller 24 beinginclined to correspond so as to produce a slight vertical component ofthe thrust between the ring and roller to assist in bearing the weightof the shuttle.

The arrangement of the upper and lower rollers l9 and the intermediateroller 24 provides a three level suspension resisting rocking of theshuttle about a horizontal axis. Further, the provision of the rollers|9 both before and behind the roller 24 provides a triple supportresisting rocking of the shuttle about a vertical axis. At the sametime, all contacts are made with members freely rotatable in the shuttlebody, so that substantially rigid positioning of the shuttle is obtainedwith little power consumption and reduced tendency to wear.

The wheels 22 should be very smoothly polished and made of metal highlyresistant to wear, e. g. high-tension steel. The rollers l9 should bemade of similar tough material.

The warp sheet at the outside of the shuttle passes through the slots inthe vane wheels 22, while the warps on the inside of the shuttle passbetween the ring 23 and the roller 24. In order to avoid damage to thewarps at this point, the ring 23 is preferably covered with a ring 28 ofresilient material such as rubber, the depth of the ring preferably notexceeding that of the roller 24 so as to avoid danger of the warps beingnipped.

The bracket I2 is provided with pressed-out clips 29 to receive thespool 30, a movable clip 3| holding the spool firmly in place.

Weft is led from the spool through a slot 32 at the rear end plate downto an eye 33 at the lower rear edge of the foot I5. A warp feelingdevice 34 is provided at the front edge of the shuttle, the constructionof the device shown being that described in U. S. application S. No.655,561 filed 7th February, 1933.

The mounting arrangement offers an important advantage in that byholding the shuttle in a very rigid manner within the warps, the pickdensity of the fabric can be rendered independent of the weight of theshuttle, since fabric and warps are relieved of the necessity ofsupporting or guiding the shuttle. Since, however, the shuttle issubstantially entirely restricted from movement, its edge pressing apreviously inserted pick positively into the fabric, so making the pickdensity a function merely of the rate at which picks are inserted andthe rate of take-up. Consequently, the shuttle arrangement admits of theproduction of fabrics covering a wide variety of pick density. Inaddition, the diminution of shuttle vibration enables the feeler 34 tobe made very sensitive in character.

As is shown by Figs. 2, 3 and 6, alternate shuttles have slightlydifferent constructions, the left hand shuttle in Fig. 6 (correspondingto Fig. 3) having its top plate 0 displaced outwardly so that its point35 lies outside the normal warp circle 36, while the plate ID of theright-hand shuttle (corresponding to Fig. 2) is displaced inwardly sothat its point 35 lies inside the circle 36. This arrangementfacilitates passage of the shuttles into the sheds which have commencedimmediately in advance of the shuttle by shedding wheels or the like.

The shafts 2| and wheels 22 lying outside the warp circle areconveniently accessible, the shafts 2| being driven by any suitablemeans (not shown) at a speed proportional to the speed of the loom. Itwill be understood that the shuttle mounting is effective both withrotating warps and with rotating shuttles. In the one case, theengagement of the wheels 22 with the right-hand faces of the flanges 2|]resists motion of the shuttles under the action of the warps moving fromleft to right (see Fig. 6) in the other, the wheels 22 push the shuttlesfrom right to left through the warps.

The construction shown makes the shuttles relatively light in weight, soenabling rotating shuttles to be rapidly stopped or stationary shuttlesto be quickly brought to warp speed in the event of warp breakage orjamming being detected by the feeler 34. Suitable mechanism for thispurpose is described in U. S. Patent No. 1,822,292.

Referring to Figs. 7 and 8, lubrication of the wheels 22 is effected bymeans of a porous pad 31, e. g. of leather, pressed against theperiphery of the wheel by means of a spring 38 carrying the pad from asupport 39. Holes 40 permit lubricant to be supplied to the pad so thatthe edge of the wheel making contact with the rollers I9 is lubricated.

Fig. 9 shows an alternative lubricating device in which a pad 4| mountedon a similar spring 42 is pressed against the face of the wheel 22 so asto apply lubricant to that part of the wheel which makes contact withthe rear face of one of the flanges 20.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

1. In a circular loom employing rotatable vane wheels passing throughthe warps into engagement with a shuttle to position the shuttle withinthe warps, a lubricating pad, and means adapted to support said pad andpress it against a vane wheel to lubricate the same.

2. A shuttle for a circular loom, said shuttle comprising two superposedboat-shaped plates, a light spool-holding bracket connecting saidplates, a light, apertured plate secured below the lower plate, a framein the aperture of said plate, horizontal bearings at different levelson said frame, two roller-carrying spindles mounted in the bearings, asubstantially vertical bearing on the frame, and a roller mounted insaid bearing and disposed between the two roller-carrying spindles.

3. A shuttle according to claim 2, wherein the light plate carrying theroller frame curves to form a foot below the frame, a guide-eye beingmounted at the rear end of the foot.

4. A circular loom comprising a shuttle, two vane-wheel members mountedin spaced relationship on a common horizontal axis at one side of theshuttle, two pairs of flanged rollers mounted at two difierent levels inthe shuttle for rolling engagement with each vane-wheel member, theflanges on the rollers preventing the vane-wheel members from makingrubbing contact with the shuttle body, a circular race mounted adjacentthe other side of the shuttle at a level between the levels of theflanged roller pairs, and a roller mounted on a substantially verticalaxis in the shuttle to engage the said circular race, said roller beingpositioned between the two vane-wheel members, and said race beingprovided with a resilient covering to avoid damage to the warps passingbetween the, race and the said roller.

5. A circular loom comprising, in combination with a source of supply ofwarps, a shuttle, pairs of rollers carried by the shuttle, rotatablevane wheels passing through the warps into rolling contact with thepairs of rollers and adapted to support said shuttle from one side ofthe warps, means to prevent the vane wheels making rubbing contact withthe shuttle body, a circular race extending round the loom on the otherside of the warps and adapted to support said shuttle from that side ofthe warps, and a roller mounted in the shuttle for engagement throughthe warps by said circular race.

6. A circular loom comprising, in combination with a source of supply ofwarps, a shuttle, pairs of flanged rollers carried by the shuttle,rotatable vane wheels passing through the warps into rolling contactwith said flanged rollers and adapted to support said shuttle from oneside of the warps, the flanges of said rollers preventing said vanewheels from making rubbing contact with the shuttle body, a circularrace extending round the loom on the other side of the warps and adaptedto support said shuttle from that side of the warps, and a rollermounted in the shuttle for engagement through the warps by said circularrace.

7. A shuttle for a circular m of the type in which a shuttle ispositioned in the warp shed on the one side by rotatable vane wheelswhich pass through the warps into engagement with the shuttle and on theother side by a circular race extending round the loom and engaging theshuttle through the warps, said shuttle comprising a top plate, anintermediate plate, a spool-supporting bracket connecting said plates, afurther plate extending from said intermediate plate to the fell of thefabric being formed, roller-bearing means mounted substantiallyvertically in said further plate for engagement through the warps on oneside of the shuttle by the circular race, horizontal bearings mounted atdifferent levels in said further plate, two spindles mounted in saidbearings, and flanged rollers mounted on said spindles for engagement onthe other side of the shuttle by the vane wheels.

J DANNY J ABOULEY.

